Hay-tedder.



' Patented Apr. .20, 1909.

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E. J. LOOMIS & J. I. WOGLUM.

HAY TEDDER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 21.1902.

. 919,045. Patented Apr. 20, 1909.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE J. LOOMIS AND JAMES I. WOGLUM, OF SHERRILL, NEW YORK.

HAY-TEDDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. April 20, 1909.

Application filed April 21, 1908. Serial No. 428,460.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EUGENE J. LooMIs and JAMES l. WOGLUM, of Sherrill, in the county of Oneida, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements inHay-Tedders, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in hay tedders adapted to be attached to the rear of mowing machines or to be drawn directly by horse power.

My main object is to simplify the general structure of the machine and at the same time to increase its efficiency particularly in the lifting and spreading action of the forks upon hay or other material which it may be desired to spread.

Another object is to enable the machine to be attached directly to the rear end of a mowing machine so that the hay may be spread for drying immediately upon cutting, all accomplished by the same power.

A further object is to mount the tedder forks upon the rear ends of a vertically rocking frame which is pivoted coaxially with the traction wheels, and to provide suitable adjusting means therefor whereby the tedder forks may be elevated or depressed by the operator while the machine is in action.

A still further object is to provide means for readily connecting and disconnecting the fork operating shaft with and from one of the traction wheels.

Another object is to connect one or both of the traction wheels to the supporting shaft in such manner that it is free to rotate in one direction and to automatically lock itself to the shaft when operated in the opposite direc tion as for instance in drawing the vehicle forwardly.

Other objects and usesrelating to specific parts of the machine will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawingsFigures 1 and 2 are respectively a top plan and a side elevation of a hay tedder embodying the various features of myinvention. Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and8 are sectional views taken respectively on lines 33, Fig. 1, 44, Fig. 3, 5 5 and 6-6, Fig. 1, 7-7, Fig. 3 and S8, Fig. 1; Figs. 5, 6 and 8 being enlarged. Fig. 9 is an end view of a portion of one of the traction wheels and ratchet and pawl connections with the supporting shaft for said traction wheel.

In carrying out the objects stated, a pair of traction wheels 1 are loosely mounted upon the horizontal ends of the supporting shaft 2' and are provided with diametrically opposite pawls 8 which are springpressed into engagement with the ratchet wheels 4 by suitable springs 5 as best seen in Fig. 9, the ratchet wheel l-- being keyed or otherwise rigidly secured to the main shaft 2.

The pawls 3 and ratchet wheels 4- are arranged so as to rotate the shaft 2- as the machine is drawn forwardly and to permit the wheels to rotate freely in the opposite direction without operating the shaft 2 when the machine is turned from a tangent as in turning corners or propelling the machine backward.

A U-shape frame bar 6 is loosely journaled intermediate its ends upon the shaft --2- and, therefore, extends some distance forwardly and rearwardly of the shaft, its closed end being preferably at the front of the shaft while the rear ends extend some distance beyond said shaft and are mounted upon suit able bearings in'which is journaled the opposite ends of a crank shaft 7'. site ends of this crank shaft 7- are coaxial but the intermediate portions are deflected at intervals from the axis forming a series of in this instance five crank arms arranged at different radial angles of in this instance a fifth of a circle, one in advance of the other.

Journaled upon each crank arm is a split bearing 8 carrying at its rear end a tedder fork -9- while its front end is connected by a rod -10 to a cross head consisting in this instance of a roller 11 which is guided in a slot 12 of a suitable supporting guide -13 as best seen in Fig.

' 3, there being one of these guides 13 for each of the tedder forks. These guides are rigidly secured to the under side of a cross bar 14- which extends transversely of the machine parallel with the shaft 2- and has its opposite ends secured to the opposite arms of the U-shape frame-bar 6.

The U-shape bar -6, guides -13 and cross bar -1 l constitute the main sup porting frame for the crank shaft which op.- erates the tedder forks and is tiltable vertically on its swinging axis which is coaxial with the shaft -2 to adjust the tedder forks toward and from the ground as may be desired. The means for effecting this adjust- The oppo-- ment preferably consists of a toggle lever 15, a link '16 and a lever 17, the latter being fulcrumed at 18- at the axis of a concentric toothed rack -l.) and is provided with a pawl 20 adapted to be operated by hand into and out of engagement with the teeth of the rack -19 to lock the tilting frame 6- and tedder forks carried thereby. These toggle arms are disposed in a vertical position, the lower one being pivoted at 2lto a pole or tongue 22 while the upper toggle arm is pivoted at '23 to an upright supporting standard 24- rising from and secured to the frame 6.

The link 16 is disposed in nearly a horizontal plane and is pivotally connected at -25 to the connecting joint of the toggle arms while the front end of said link 16- is pivoted at 26- to the lever 17 above its fulcrum l8. It is now evident that by operating the lever 17- back and forth thereby flexing the toggle 15, the tilting frame 6 will be tilted upon its swinging axis more or less according to the throw of the lever 17, it being understood that the upright standard 24- to which one end of the toggle is connected is rigidly secured to the front end of the frame -6- some distance in front of the shaft -2- so that the operation of tilting the frame is comparatively easy.

The pole or toggle 22 may be attached by any suitable means to the rear end of the mowing machine or may be attached in the usual manner to the harness of a team of horses.

In some instances a single horse may be used as a means for propelling the machine and for this purpose 1 have shown in dotted lines a pair of thills 27 as having their rear ends attached to suitable coupling pins 28 which also form the coupling pins for the pole 22. These coupling pins are i mounted upon suitable brackets 29* which are secured to the cross bar -1-lequi-distant from opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the machine as best seen in Fig. 1.

The thills -27 may be attached to the machine without removing the pole 22 and in this case said thills are preferably elevated some distance above the pole and are provided with a )endent cross bar 30 secured in a suita le manner to, and resting upon the pole 22-.

The crank shaft -7 carrying the tedder forks 9 is adapted to be driven indirectly from one. of the traction wheels 1 but is also adapted to be connected to and disconnected from said traction wheels so that the entire machine may be propelled without operating the tedder forks and for this purpose a sprocket wheel 31 is loosely mounted uponthe main shaft *2 and is provided with a clutch section 33', the latter being formed upon the contiguous face of the adjacent traction wheel 1-.

The sprocket whee1-3r and clutch section -32 are movable axially on the shaft 2- by means of a spring 34 which holds the clutch sections in operative engage ment with each other to a lever 35- which is connected to a curved hub on the inner end of the sprocket wheel -32 to throw the clutch section out of engagement with the clutch section 33- against the action of the spring -3l when it is desired to dis connect the crank shaft 7 from its driving mechanism. This clutch operating lever -35 is connected by a link 36 to a hand lever 37-, the latterbeing fulcrumed at 38-- intermediate its ends to thefront )art of the tilting frame 6- and has its front end extending some distance beyond said frame and movable into and out of engagement with a suitable stop or rack -39 for holding the axially movable clutch section 32- in its adjusted position.

The sprocket wheel -31- is connected by a link belt et0 to a somewhat smaller sprocket wheel 41- which in turn is coaxial with and rigidly secured to a somewhat larger sprocket wheel 42, said sprocket wheels 4-1 and l2+ being mounted upon a supporting spindle 4;3 projecting from the adjacent side of the main frame 4l6-.

The s irocket wheel -42- is connected by a link elt l4- to a somewhat smaller sprocket wheel l5- which is rigidly secured upon the adjacent end of the crank shaft -7, the latter being connected by a brace bar 45 to the outer end of the stud or spindle 43 to brace the latter against undue strains.

The guides 13 for the tedder operating arms l0- are rigidly secured to the under side of the frame bar -1 l as best seen in Fig. 3 and are preferably disposed in a hori- Zontal position in nearly the same horizontal plane as the axis of revolution of the crank shaft '7, the length of the slot 12 in each of the guides being equal to or slightly greater than the throw of the crank arm to which its corresponding tedder fork is connected.

As best seen in Fig. 4, the roller cross head 11 has a central reduced annular bearing riding in the slot 12 and is provided with inner and outer annular flanges for engaging the inner and outer facesof the guide 13 and preventing lateral displacement of a roller cross head relative to the guide, said roller being supported upon a suitable pin forming a part of the connecting rod.

As best seen in Fig. 8, the bearings -&- to which the connecting rod 10 and tedder forks are secured is made in two parts fitting upon the sides of its corresponding crank arm and clamped together by suitable bolts 50 which enables the tedder forks to be readily connected to and disconnected from the crank shaft. In like manner, one of the flanges of the roller cross head 11 is removable to permit the roller to be readily inserted into or removed from the slot 12. In like manner, each tedder fork is composed of a number of teeth which are held between two clamping plates or bars 51 and 52 having grooves in their adjacent faces for receiving offset ends 53 on the upper end of the tines of the forks, said lates being clam ed together by suitable olts 54 as best seen in Figs. 1, 3, and 8.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the frame 6 together with the crank shaft and tedder forks and'guides for the connecting rods are tiltable vertically upon the main shaft by means of the toggle 15 and connections with the lever 17- so that the entire series of tedder forks may be elevated or depressed at will to any degree. It will also be observed that the crank shaft for operating the tedder forks may be thrown out of connection with the traction wheel by sim ly disengaging the clutch section 32 rom the clutch sections 33 by means of the shifting lever -37-.

Another important feature of my inven tion is to provide the guides -13 and cross heads slidable therein and connected to the tedder forks whereby the lower ends of the tedder forks are thrown rearwardly during their elevation thus exerting a great lifting or distributing power u on the hay or similar material and engaged t ereby serving to spread the hay out over the ground more evenly than would be the case if the forks remained in the same vertical position while being carried rearwardly and upwardly.

It is evident, however, although the construction is particularly simple and effective, some change may be made in the detail of construction without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What we claim is:

1. In a hay tedder, a main shaft, and traction wheels thereon, a tilting frame on the shaft, means for tilting the frame, a guide on the frame, a crank shaft journaled in the frame, a bearing mounted on a crank of said shaft, a tedder fork carried by said bearing, a cross head on the guide and a connecting rod between said bearing and cross head, and means for transmitting motion from one of the traction wheels to the crank shaft.

2. In a hay tedder, a vertically tiltable frame, and means for tilting the same, guides on the frame, cross heads movable lengthwise of the guides, a crank shaft on the frame, tedder forks connected to the cranks of said shaft and also connected to said cross heads, and means for rotating the crank shaft.

3. In a ha tedder, a main shaft and traction wheels oose thereon, means for transmitting rotary motion from the traction wheels to the shaft when the traction wheels are rotated in one direction, said traction wheels being free to rotate in the opposite direction, a vertically tiltable frame journaled on the main shaft, means for tilting the frame, a crank shaft journaled on the rear end of the frame, bearings on the cranks of said shaft, tedder forks connected to said bearings, guides on the frame, cross heads movable in the guides, and connecting rods between the cross heads and bearings.

4. In a hay tedder, a rotary crank shaft, and actuating means therefor, a sliding cross head and guide therefor, a bearing mounted upon a crank of the crank shaft, a tedder fork supported by said bearing, and a connecting rod between the cross head and said bearing.

5. In a hay tedder, a crank shaft and driving means therefor, a slotted guide, a roller cross head movable in said guide, a bearing mounted upon a crank of the crank shaft, a tedder fork carried by said bearing, and a connecting rod between said bearing and roller cross head.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 13th day of April 1908.

EUGENE J. LOOMIS. JAMES I. WOGLUM. Witnesses:

H. E. CHASE, C. M. MoCoRMacK. 

